Smallpox and London

In a crowded city like London a disease like smallpox was bound to spread. With little medical treatment available to the poor, it was this social group that suffered the most. Edward Jenner had not patented his discovery of a vaccination, but medical help had still to be paid for. This severely restricted the number of those who could be treated for smallpox and it hit hard those in dirty tenements found in London’s East End.

The impact of smallpox can be found from the records of deaths kept for 1844.

Deaths of those under 1 year old: 4120

Deaths of those aged 1: 1524

Deaths of those aged 2: 1197

Deaths of those aged 3: 569

Deaths of those aged 4: 629

Deaths of those aged 5: 1122

Deaths of those aged 10: 226

Deaths of those aged 15: 226

Deaths of those aged 20: 240

Deaths of those aged 25: 148

Deaths of those aged 30: 98

Deaths of those aged 35: 75

Deaths of those aged 40: 43

Deaths of those aged 45: 22

Deaths of those aged 50: 13

Deaths of those aged 55: 10

Deaths of those aged 60: 19

Deaths of those aged 70: 10

Deaths of those aged 75: 4

Deaths of those aged 80: 10

Deaths of those aged 85: 1

Deaths of those aged 90: 0

Total deaths from smallpox for 1844: 10,316

This represents an average of 28 deaths a day from a disease that had a cure.